Root Cellar "Brain Food" Supports Students During COVID-19 with Mini-Grant

In the wake of coronavirus shut-downs, the Healthy Neighborhoods Rapid Response grant helped the Root Cellar distribute 1,000-1,750 Lewiston Public Schools Nutrition breakfasts and lunches each week to local students. From the very first day of school closure, the Root Cellar also served learning-level homework packets with guided work in the areas of math, reading, and writing as well as ESL, social studies, science, socioemotional well-being, art, history and more for each grade level PreK - 12th.

Staff and volunteers also engaged and built socially-distanced relationships with 100-150 Lewiston Public Schools students daily by providing corrections, feedback and encouragement on work packets and through giving prizes and rewards during this time in which the kids do not have any required school work. These students improved and demonstrated new concept mastery through feedback on tailored learning assignments.

Engaging the children in academic work throughout the school closure proved invaluable, particularly for helping the students maintain mental well-being during quarantine and to transition back to the more formal in-person learning opportunities that the Root Cellar was able to provide over summer as well as into the school year at their Safe Learning Hub.

It was also very helpful for the parents to be able to productively engage their children when they were unexpectedly at home with them every day. Parents felt loved and supported as they received care and encouragement as well each day they showed up for their families.